Billy Duke...

Dargone · 11-25-2009, 12:29 AM

In one of my leagues there is this pitcher named Billy Duke and for most of his career he wasn't a household name. That is until, at age 35, he landed the 5th starting job for my lowly Las Vegas Gambinos. Billy was always a bit below average and I picked him up for cheap during the off season thinking that he might come in handy during an injury crisis to the starting pitchers. One thing Billy has always had was endurance and a propensity to pile up innings, so I decided to give him the nod for the last starting position.

Something happened to my team in the year of 2055 and especially to Billy Duke. The youngsters blossomed and the veterans stepped up. We were piling up wins in April and May like they were going out of style. Billy was destroying opposing teams. Now I've been playing OOTP for close to a decade so I've seen my fair share of hot starts and really bad finishes. I figured this would be more of the same.

June and July passed and the team was in first by over ten games. Billy Duke had more wins and strikeouts than any other pitcher in the league. His ERA-a minuscule 1.83 ( league best in over 120 season was a 2.23). Billy was now the number one starter and he just kept winning.

August and September were cruise months as we won our first division title in 23 years (yeah, that bad). Billy finished the year with 27 wins and only 5 losses. His ERA was a history best 1.97 and he shattered the record for strikeouts by fanning 365 batters (league best before him was 321). He threw four one hitters during the season and was pitcher of the month three times. A season for the ages and a lock for hurler of the year.

But wait, it gets better. We swept our hated rivals the Memphis Devils in the division series and Billy pitched a 3 hit shutout. The league championship series went 5 games and Billy pitched two more shutouts easily earning league MVP honors.

The Championship series was against perennial powerhouse Los Angels. The Tornadoes have won 27 championships and were going for their third straight this season. So, yeah, they are the Yankees of this league.

Billy gets in a heated duel with their ace and I'm biting my nails waiting for the clock to strike midnight. This pitcher has been everything Billy has not throughout his career. A winner. The Clemens of his era. The boys get a run and Billy pitches a complete game shutout giving up only 5 hits. We win the next two games and are going for the sweep at home.

I gamble and start Billy Duke for the fourth game. In all my years of OOTP this season, this team, and this player have captured my imagination like few others. So what does Billy Duke do in game 4 of the Championship series? He throws a 3 hit complete game shutout to complete the sweep and give us our first title ever. Unbelievable. Just when I think I can't be surprised anymore. Wow.

What a game

norva13x · 11-25-2009, 12:46 AM

I love stories like this, it makes the game so special.
I have one story, except unlike yours with one special season, this player had one special game: in OOTP8 it was Game 7 of the World Series, I was the Devil Rays playing against the Mets, using fictional rosters, I had two outs at the bottom of the 12th and a couple of guys on. My pitcher game up to bat(no DH in that league), I put a pinch hitter in, I decided to put in my back-up catcher, who was a career .170 hitter. I have no idea why to this day I put him in, I had a few other guys off the bench who had better averages then this guy, but I still put him in. Well the guy slammed a double and drove in the game winning run. I went nuts lol.

The guy retired with an unassuming career, I even overpaid him for many years just to keep him on my team as a back-up as I was so attached to him. Had to let him go though eventually. He finished with something like a .200 batting average or so, but he had that one special moment!

damientheomen3 · 11-25-2009, 02:12 PM

I drafted an outfielder in the 16th round of a draft once (20 rounds) and made up a backstory for him that his dad committed suicide and his mom abandoned him and he was raised by his neighbors. He had no talent whatsoever. Now he's a staple in my DH spot and has hit 170 homers over the last 7 seasons

11-25-2009, 12:29 AM	#1
Dargone Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Interwebs Posts: 2,862	Billy Duke... In one of my leagues there is this pitcher named Billy Duke and for most of his career he wasn't a household name. That is until, at age 35, he landed the 5th starting job for my lowly Las Vegas Gambinos. Billy was always a bit below average and I picked him up for cheap during the off season thinking that he might come in handy during an injury crisis to the starting pitchers. One thing Billy has always had was endurance and a propensity to pile up innings, so I decided to give him the nod for the last starting position. Something happened to my team in the year of 2055 and especially to Billy Duke. The youngsters blossomed and the veterans stepped up. We were piling up wins in April and May like they were going out of style. Billy was destroying opposing teams. Now I've been playing OOTP for close to a decade so I've seen my fair share of hot starts and really bad finishes. I figured this would be more of the same. June and July passed and the team was in first by over ten games. Billy Duke had more wins and strikeouts than any other pitcher in the league. His ERA-a minuscule 1.83 ( league best in over 120 season was a 2.23). Billy was now the number one starter and he just kept winning. August and September were cruise months as we won our first division title in 23 years (yeah, that bad). Billy finished the year with 27 wins and only 5 losses. His ERA was a history best 1.97 and he shattered the record for strikeouts by fanning 365 batters (league best before him was 321). He threw four one hitters during the season and was pitcher of the month three times. A season for the ages and a lock for hurler of the year. But wait, it gets better. We swept our hated rivals the Memphis Devils in the division series and Billy pitched a 3 hit shutout. The league championship series went 5 games and Billy pitched two more shutouts easily earning league MVP honors. The Championship series was against perennial powerhouse Los Angels. The Tornadoes have won 27 championships and were going for their third straight this season. So, yeah, they are the Yankees of this league. Billy gets in a heated duel with their ace and I'm biting my nails waiting for the clock to strike midnight. This pitcher has been everything Billy has not throughout his career. A winner. The Clemens of his era. The boys get a run and Billy pitches a complete game shutout giving up only 5 hits. We win the next two games and are going for the sweep at home. I gamble and start Billy Duke for the fourth game. In all my years of OOTP this season, this team, and this player have captured my imagination like few others. So what does Billy Duke do in game 4 of the Championship series? He throws a 3 hit complete game shutout to complete the sweep and give us our first title ever. Unbelievable. Just when I think I can't be surprised anymore. Wow. What a game __________________ I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken -- and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.-Margaret Mitchell Last edited by Dargone; 11-25-2009 at 01:33 PM.

11-25-2009, 12:46 AM	#2
norva13x Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 476	I love stories like this, it makes the game so special. I have one story, except unlike yours with one special season, this player had one special game: in OOTP8 it was Game 7 of the World Series, I was the Devil Rays playing against the Mets, using fictional rosters, I had two outs at the bottom of the 12th and a couple of guys on. My pitcher game up to bat(no DH in that league), I put a pinch hitter in, I decided to put in my back-up catcher, who was a career .170 hitter. I have no idea why to this day I put him in, I had a few other guys off the bench who had better averages then this guy, but I still put him in. Well the guy slammed a double and drove in the game winning run. I went nuts lol. The guy retired with an unassuming career, I even overpaid him for many years just to keep him on my team as a back-up as I was so attached to him. Had to let him go though eventually. He finished with something like a .200 batting average or so, but he had that one special moment!